S e p t e m b e r 2 4 , 2 0 2 6 | A p p e n M e d i a . c o m | A n A p p e n M e d i a G r o u p P u b l i c a t i o n | 5 0 ¢ | Vo l u m e 2 1 , N o . 3 9
Milton readies pumpkin carving, trunk-or-treat By ERLANDRYA RUTLEDGE erlandrya@appenmedia.com
PHOTOS BY ALYSSA RIVES/CONTRIBUTED
Alyssa Rives competes in a past “American Ninja Warrior” season. The Milton physical therapist, who competed in the NBC show’s 11th and 13th seasons, will appear in 2027’s season 19.
Milton mom readies for third ‘American Ninja Warrior’ run By ERLANDRYA RUTLEDGE erlandrya@appenmedia.com MILTON, Ga. — Milton resident Alyssa Rives is returning for her third run on “American Ninja Warrior,” the popular NBC sports entertainment and reality game show competition. She will be featured in 2027’s season 19, which will air next summer. Filming begins this month. Rives previously competed in seasons 11 (2019) and 13 (2021) of the show. She planned to compete in 2022’s sea-
son 14 but, before filming started, found out she was pregnant with her daughter. After her pregnancy, she injured her knee, again delaying her return. In “Ninja Warrior,” contestants complete difficult obstacle courses for the chance to win a jackpot. Rives said she knew she had to be completely healthy to win the competition, and, after knee surgery and the birth of her second daughter, she is ready for another run.
See RIVES, Page 25
MILTON, Ga. — Carvin’ in Crabapple returns to Milton Oct. 24 for some spooky, family-friendly activities. Every year, Carvin’ in Crabapple draws hundreds of people to downtown Milton for the free Halloweenthemed event. This year’s edition is set for 4 to 7 p.m. at Broadwell Pavilion, 12615 Broadwell Road. Participants are encouraged to bring their own pumpkins, while painting and carving tools will be provided. Those interested in saving pumpkin seeds should bring containers or gallon-sized bags. There will also be a costume contest with prizes, games, face painting, food trucks and inflatables. Across the street, the Milton Police Department will host its
See PUMPKIN, Page 26
“American Ninja Warrior” three-time competitor Alyssa Rives, a Milton physical therapist and mom of two daughters, leads monthly free “baby + me” fitness classes for mothers at Bell Memorial Park.
SEE THE WINNERS INSIDE
2 | September 24, 2026 | Milton Herald | AppenMedia.com/Milton
PUBLIC SAFETY
Students petition to remove Flock cameras at Alpharetta High 770-442-3278 AppenMedia.com 319 N. Main Street Alpharetta, GA 30009 HANS APPEN Publisher RAY APPEN Publisher Emeritus CONTACT NEWS TIPS Contact reporters directly or send story ideas to newsroom@appenmedia.com. LETTERS, EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS Send your letters, events and community news to newsroom@appenmedia.com. See appenmedia.com/submit for more guidance. ADVERTISING For information about advertising in the Milton Herald or other Appen Media properties, email advertising@ appenmedia.com or call 770-442-3278. CIRCULATION To start, pause or stop delivery of this newspaper, email circulation@appenmedia.com or call 770-442-3278.
By PATRICK QUINN Atlanta News First ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Students at Alpharetta High School are petitioning to have Flock Safety cameras removed from campus, saying the cameras infringe on their privacy. Flock cameras are installed outside every entrance to the school, capturing footage of each car that comes on and off campus. “We hope that Fulton County takes down every Flock camera,” said Aditya Manchanda, 17, a senior at Alpharetta High School. Manchanda and Henry Jones, 17, started the petition in September. They said they believe the cameras violate the Fourth Amendment, which protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures. “I think the school has a responsibility to protect the privacy of its students. And Flock cameras are directly contradictory to that,” Jones said. Petition cites cost and privacy concerns The petition, titled “Remove flock cameras from Alpharetta High School,” was created Sept. 1 and, as of this report, has 92 signatures. The petition is backed by the Alpharetta Young Democratic Socialists of America. Organizers are calling for the cameras’ removal and proposed alternatives, including increased patrols by security personnel, community-based safety programs, and efforts to strengthen relationships between students, teachers and administrators. District says cameras were approved in 2022 The Fulton County School System said the cameras are not new to campus. They were approved by the school board in September 2022 and are installed at all 101 schools
DEAN HESSE/APPEN MEDIA
A Flock Safety automated license plate reader is shown on Main Street in Tucker. The readers scan passing license plates and capture the plate number, location, date, time and photographs of the vehicle. This information is uploaded to a central database that users across the country can access. district-wide. According to a Fulton County Schools bulletin published Sept. 23, 2022, the cameras are automatic license plate readers, which capture computer-readable images of license plates and vehicle characteristics, not people or faces. According to the district, the system compares plate numbers against those of stolen vehicles or vehicles linked to people suspected of criminal activity and sends real-time alerts to law enforcement when a vehicle associated with a wanted suspect or endangered person passes the camera. “Our goal is to ensure that everyone feels safe on their school campus,” District Superintendent Mike Looney said in the 2022 bulletin. “We are constantly thinking about ways to secure our campuses and protect students and staff, while protecting their privacy.” According to the bulletin, captured camera data is owned by Fulton County
Schools and is not sold or shared with third parties, except when shared with other law enforcement agencies. The bulletin states the data is encrypted, stored in a cloud and permanently deleted after 30 days, and that the cameras are intended to maintain campus safety rather than to enforce minor traffic or parking violations. The district-wide camera installation cost roughly $626,300, paid for through ESPLOST funds, according to a 2022 Flock blog post. The district said at the time it planned to have cameras installed at all schools by January 2023. The school board also authorized an additional $6 million that fiscal year to enhance safety measures further, according to the report. In 2022, Looney said the cameras were intended to track people convicted of sex crimes, those barred from having a gun and those banned from school grounds.
Saturday, October 10 • 7:30pm > MOZART IN MILTON Learn More • Get Tickets
Celebrate the opening of Music Milton’s second season with an extraordinary evening of Mozart, featuring the internationally acclaimed Vega Quartet, renowned clarinetist Laura Ardan, and pianist and Music Milton Artistic Director William Ransom. Experience Mozart’s dramatic Piano Quartet in G Minor, Duo for Violin & Viola and beloved Clarinet Quintet—performed live by acclaimed artists. Great music close to home!
www.musicmilton.org/mozart-in-milton
Birmingham United Methodist Church 15770 Birmingham Hwy, Milton, GA 30004
See FLOCK, Page 25
AppenMedia.com/Milton | Milton Herald | September 24, 2026 | 3
Selling in the spring? Planning starts now.
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MILTON MARKET UPDATE SING LE FAM ILY HO M ES & CO N D O M I N I UM S | Q 2 2026
FO R SA L E I N MI LTO N RU N 15850 Burdette Court | Offered for $1,300,000
MEDIAN SALES PRICE
AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET
NEW LISTINGS
1% year over year
23% year over year
9% year over year
CLOSED SALES
INVENTORY
LISTINGS SOLD OVER ASKING
1% year over year
2% year over year
from 23% in Q2 2025
$1.26M 146
FO R SA L E I N GL A DW YN E
38
180
296
17%
Data provided by Georgia MLS, Northeast Georgia Board of REALTORS® and First Multiple Listing Service Inc. All information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. July 6, 2026.
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BONNIE SMITH GROUP NO. 1 SMALL TEAM, NORTH ATLANTA OFFICE, 2023-2025 BEST OTP TEAM, MODERN LUXURY INTERIORS, 2025
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© 2026 Sotheby’s International Realty. All Rights Reserved. Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark and used with permission. Each Sotheby’s International Realty office is independently owned and operated, except those operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. All offerings are subject to errors, omissions, changes including price or withdrawal without notice. Equal Housing Opportunity. 8000 Avalon Boulevard, Suite 800, Alpharetta, Georgia 30009.
COMMUNITY
4 | September 24, 2026 | Milton Herald | AppenMedia.com/Milton
Boy Scout’s project aims to house Milton’s bluebirds By ERLANDRYA RUTLEDGE erlandrya@appenmedia.com MILTON, Ga. — Earlier this month, Milton High School student and Boy Scout Saavan Ghelani built 60 birdhouses for bluebirds to nest in throughout the city. Ghelani, 16, is part of Troop 841 and has been a boy scout for about two years. He is a life scout with 27 badges, most of them earned through summer camp at Bert Adams Scout Camp in Covington. He is currently working toward the eagle scout rank. His biggest influence is his brother, Shreyan, who encouraged him to join the scouts. “My favorite part [about being a boy scout] is probably learning a bunch of different skills that I can use in the future, like how to build a campsite [and other outdoor skills]; it helps me out whenever I go camping,” Ghelani said. The city of Milton is the project’s beneficiary. Jen Young, Milton’s outdoor recreation supervisor, helped bring about the opportunity for Ghelani to work with Eastern bluebirds. Young said she enjoys projects where scouts can take a simple idea and create something that will benefit
DRIVEWAYS & CONCRETE
birds, families and the community for years to come. “Saavan and his troop’s project exemplify what it looks like when young people take an active role in caring for natural spaces in our community,” Young said. “The bird boxes he created will become homes for wildlife in our parks and in residents’ yards, showing people what stewardship of wildlife is all about. I’m excited to see Saavan’s project give Milton residents another opportunity to get outside, learn about our native birds and become wildlife stewards.” Ghelani originally planned to build 30 birdhouses but discovered that number was too small. He doubled it and has already sent eight of them to Milton City Park and Preserve and seven to Providence Park. In April, 45 of Ghelani’s birdhouses will be distributed to families at Milton’s Earth Day event. “I thought the birds were pretty neat … they have to find their own shelter in the homes that we’re gonna make for them because there’s a lot more deforestation or they can’t find new cavities in the trees,” Ghelani said. “So, we’re basically gonna build artificial cavities for them so they can peacefully lay their eggs and thrive.”
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The birdhouses are built from one 6x6 cedar plank, which is cut seven times into seven different pieces. Each piece correlates with a front panel, back panel, bottom panel, two roof panels and two side panels. The sides are glued to the other panels. Gluing the birdhouse together ensures the wood is less likely to split when adding screws. A door to the birdhouse will allow park maintenance workers to clean it. The project’s equipment cost around $1,500, and Ghelani has created a fundraiser to defray those costs. For more information or to donate, visit troop841.com/saavan. He said he hopes community members will see the birdhouses and be inspired to also help the bird population. “If they’re out in the park and they see one of these birdhouses, they’ll probably think, ‘Maybe I should get one at my house, and maybe I should help out a bird species,’” Ghelani said. His project took more than 80 hours to finish, including the steps for approval. Ghelani said projects like this one take effort and determination. “It’s definitely worth it because you’re helping out your community,” Ghelani said.
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Boy Scout Saavan Ghelani crouches near one of his completed birdhouses and among cedar planks for other ones. The Milton High School student, 16, has built 60 birdhouses as part of a scouting project. They will be distributed to parks and homes in Milton.
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AppenMedia.com/Milton | Milton Herald | September 24, 2026 | 5
MARKETING MATTERS BEFORE
BEFORE
AFTER
AFTER
S O L D • 1970 Bethany Way
S O L D • 616 Glenover Drive
Originally listed with another agent for 297 days, our team staged, painted and added new lighting to the home. We listed the property for a higher price and went under contract in five days with multiple offers and a backup contract.
Originally listed with another agent for over four months in peak spring and summer markets, we encouraged our sellers to paint, and our team staged the home to create renewed interest. After listing, we were under contract and closed in just over two months.
P E O P L E ’ S C H O I C E AWA R D & B E ST LU X U R Y T E A M Best of the City 2025, The Atlantan Magazine N O. 1 L A R G E T E A M , C O M PA N Y - W I D E , 2 0 2 5 $176M+ CLOSED AND PENDING IN 2025 $ 1 2 7 M + S O L D I N M I LTO N I N 2 0 2 5
Dear Milton Neighbor, We specialize in homes that did not sell the first time and are happy to consult with you on home updates or marketing adjustments to ensure a successful sale. Proper staging, accurate pricing, strong community relationships, agent connections and high-quality photography and videography all play a role in attracting the right buyer. With 25 years of experience understanding what buyers want, we focus on presenting both the home and the Milton lifestyle. We would love to help you take advantage of our vibrant market!
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© 2026 Sotheby’s International Realty. All Rights Reserved. Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark and used with permission. Each Sotheby’s International Realty office is independently owned and operated, except those operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. The Sotheby’s International Realty network fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. 8000 Avalon Boulevard, Suite 800, Alpharetta, Georgia 30009.
NEWS
6 | September 24, 2026 | Milton Herald | AppenMedia.com/Milton
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Milton Library workshops to teach kids, families about money By ERLANDRYA RUTLEDGE erlandrya@appenmedia.com MILTON, Ga. — A local financial advisor is bringing financial literacy workshops to the Milton Library and hoping the free sessions will help children and families learn better money habits. Registration is now open for Arpit Shah’s classes, which are Sept. 26, Sept. 28, Oct. 27 and Nov. 10. Each session has a different focus area. The Sept. 26 workshop is designed for young learners. Classes focus on: • Sept. 26, 2 p.m. — Fun lessons about saving and spending. • Sept. 28, 6 p.m. — Fundamentals of investing, how the stock market works and how to build strategies to plan for the future. • Oct. 27, 6 p.m. — How to spot financial scams, protect personal information and safeguard against fraud. • Nov. 10, 6 p.m. — Market turbulence, long-term investing principles and practical approaches to navigating uncertain economic conditions. To register, visit fulcolibrary.org/locations/milton. The library is located at 855 Mayfield Road. Shah, with Edward Jones Investments, is facilitating the workshops. He decided to pursue a career in financial guidance after more than 22 years with FedEx. Moving to the Milton area from Memphis, Tennessee, Shah joined the financial services firm and started his investment advisory practice with a goal of helping individuals and families build, preserve and grow wealth. He said his own investments over the past 20 years enabled him to jump careers and follow his passion.
“I think that was the hardest part — knowing that you’re giving up a great salary — but then knowing that I had done well and it would allow me to sustain this lifestyle for my family that I want,” Shah said. “Knowing SHAH that made the decision a little easier because it’s something that I love doing.” Shah also founded an investment club at his daughter’s school, Northwestern Middle, after seeing limited offerings in that area and wishing he had been taught more about financial independence early on. He also mentored a financial club at Alpharetta High. “I think [early education can] help kids understand some of the simplified concepts — budgeting, savings and compounding — and really put them on a track to become a more financially literate individual as they go to high school and college,” he said. One concept he wish he knew from a young age was that of the rule of 72. He said you can divide 72 by an annual interest rate to get roughly how many years it takes an investment to double. For example, at 8% interest, money doubles in about nine years. “That’s where your snowball starts to kick in, when your $100 doubles to $200, and $200 doubles to $400, and it keeps growing,” Shah said. He said financial success starts with having a plan and discipline. “Have an approach or framework, stay the course … and be disciplined about it,” Shah said. Shah’s office can be reached at 470672-1450.
AppenMedia.com/Milton | Milton Herald | September 24, 2026 | 7
STORE CLOSING
Final Weeks!
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A few examples of our Going Out of Business prices: 13x20 hand-knotted rug 100% wool – $9,850 now $1,250 11x16 hand-knotted rug 100% wool – $7,500 now $1,050 8.5x11.5 antique heriz – $11,500 now $2,500 8x10 power loom – $1,720 now $290 6x9 woven 100% wool – $950 now $175 3x5 antique – $1,200 now $175
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Thousand plus rugs are available in all sizes, colors, and styles new and antiques from all over the world with unbelievable prices. This is your opportunity to purchase premium rugs at some of the lowest prices we’ve ever offered. These savings are only available while inventory lasts, so don’t wait to find the perfect rug for your home.
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Just opened? Appen Media publishes New Business Spotlights to highlight local businesses as they get started. Submit yours for free at appenmedia.com/newbusiness. 8 | Milton Herald | September 24, 2026
NFCC job fair connects local employers and job seekers By ERLANDRYA RUTLEDGE erlandrya@appenmedia.com
JON WILCOX/APPEN MEDIA
A EOS Fitness member exercises in this promotional image provided by the company. The gym will soon open an Alpharetta location at 965 North Point Drive.
EOS Fitness coming to North Point Commons anchor spot
THE PICTURE FRAMER HAS MOVED! CUSTOM FRAMING 13000 Deerfield Pkwy. Bldg. 200, Ste. 285 Milton, GA 30004 (770) 667-2112 T–F 11–6, Sat 11–3
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One past attendee shared that meeting directly with a recruiter gave them the opportunity to receive feedback after their resume was repeatedly rejected through online applications. Others have noted the variety of employers, welcoming environment and opportunity to have meaningful conversations with recruiters.
ALPHARETTA, Ga. — EOS Fitness is expanding to Alpharetta, bringing its brand of affordable, high-value fitness to North Point Drive. The company signed a long-term lease for a 38,419-square-foot gym at 965 North Point Drive, an EOS representative said Sept. 3. The company’s website says the gym will open in 2027. The gym will serve as an anchor tenant for the North Point Commons retail property. JoAnn Fabrics was
the previous tenant. That company, after its bankruptcy and sale to a private equity firm, closed all 800 of its locations in 2025. With more than 225 locations open and on the way nationwide, EOS Fitness offers premium cardio and strength equipment, recovery solutions, group fitness and personal training. Memberships start at $9.99 a month. The gym has locations in Roswell and Austell. A second Alpharetta location, at 700 McFarland Parkway, is planned to open in 2028, according to the company’s website.
erfi el
By JON WILCOX jon@appenmedia.com
De
ROSWELL, Ga. — On Oct. 6 North Fulton Community Charities (NFCC) will host its 2026 Job Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the NFCC Barbara Duffy Center. Sponsored by Wellstar, the free event is open to all job seekers and offers an opportunity to meet directly with local employers, explore career paths and connect with recruiters and hiring representatives. Held at 11275 Elkins Road, business professional attire is encour aged, and attendees should bring copies of their resume. Registering in advance is encouraged. Participating employers include Wellstar Health System, the city of Alpharetta, the city of Roswell, Enterprise Mobility, Right at Home North Atlanta and Solutionz, Inc. “A job can be so much more than a paycheck; it can be a step toward greater stability for an individual and their family,” said Dr. Amy Gates Stroud, President of North Fulton Community Charities. “Our Job Fair is about creating opportunities for people in our community to connect directly with employers, explore what’s possible and take that next step forward in their career.”
AppenMedia.com/Milton | Milton Herald | September 24, 2026 | 9
New Season. New Possibilites. 146 Weyhill Court | Downtown Alpharetta Under Contract | $2,250,000
775 Champions Club Drive | Milton Offered for $1,650,000
Brad Poole m 678.618.0398 | o 404.668.6621 brad@atlantahomeproperty.com bradpoolegroup.com Scan for North Atlanta's Top Fall Activities for the Family
605 Hickory Mill Lane | Milton Offered for $1,575,000
Compass is a licensed real estate broker and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only. Information is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, condition, sale, or withdrawal without notice. No statement is made as to the accuracy of any description. All measurements and square footages are approximate. This is not intended to solicit property already listed. Nothing herein shall be construed as legal, accounting or other professional advice outside the realm of real estate brokerage. Rules & Exclusions apply. Compass offers no guarantee or warranty of results. Subject to additional terms and conditions.
10 | September 24, 2026 | Milton Herald | AppenMedia.com/Milton
SPORTS
Centennial alum Diaz returns to coach against Alpharetta By ANNABELLE REITER annabelle@appenmedia.com ROSWELL, Ga. — Centennial volleyball alumna and head coach Olivia Diaz is in her first year back with the program and faced a familiar group when her former team, Alpharetta, came to Roswell for a match. Alpharetta has been nationally ranked for several years, the last two of which Diaz joined the staff first as an assistant then as co-head coach last season. When the job opened at her alma mater, she couldn’t turn down the opportunity to give back to a place that shaped her. “I love the girls, I love the program, I love the school,” Diaz said. “I love Alpharetta, too; I’m always going to support them, even if I’m on the other side of the net rooting for Centennial. It’s really fun to have that rivalry now.” Diaz was named to the Prep Volleyball Class of 2019 Watchlist during her time as a Knights libero and defensive specialist before she went on to play for UNC. “No doubt the Centennial volleyball program will greatly benefit from Olivia’s leadership,” reads a comment on a Facebook post announcing her hire. She’s not the first Centennial alum to come back and take over at the helm, demonstrating the strength of the school’s community. Several dozen students attended the game in a student section similar to that seen on the gridiron. “Just seeing how supportive all the fans are … we have fans at every single game,” Diaz said. “Win or lose, they’re in here, and that’s just what Centennial is about. It’s really fun to be part of that culture and build up volleyball players that get to experience that and know that people care about volleyball.” The Knights went 11-19 last year and have nine seniors on the team this season. Diaz has coaching experience at one of the most highly regarded clubs in the country, A5, so she is expected to elevate her alma mater’s program. Diaz said she feels the program’s 6-17
ANNABELLE REITER/APPEN MEDIA
Centennial volleyball head coach Olivia Diaz smiles after a Knights point, signaling to a player which attack to run. Diaz, a 2019 Centennial graduate, went on to play for the University of North Carolina. record does not “reflect the team that they are.” “A lot of those losses were just mindset,” she said. “Now, they’re starting to develop a mindset where they’re expecting to go out and play hard. Where towards the beginning of the season, as soon as the other team would start getting ahead, they would think ‘we’ve already lost.’” She said she does not want her team to define themselves by their mistakes and that she is proud of how they uplift each other. “They have so much fun when they win, so I push that on them,” Diaz said. “But I don’t sit here and harp on them for how many losses they have and how many wins they have. I just want to see them grow as people and as players.” The match against Alpharetta ended in a sweep, but the Knights improved their point total by more than 10 compared to
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last year’s meeting. The second set, which ended 25-21, was especially back and forth, with Centennial leading at times. Alpharetta has a new look this year, coming off a loss to Walton in the title game last season and two back-to-back 6A championships the years before that. They hired Georgia State volleyball alumna Jordan Screen to fill Diaz’s absence. The team had received news before the season began that star outside hitter Leilani Lamar would not be available after sustaining multiple injuries during the club season. Lamar is ranked as the No. 2 player in the junior class and committed to the University of Pittsburgh in June. With a younger team compared to past years, the two seniors on the squad have stepped up in major ways. Bella Thompson, who played right side for the Raiders last year, has moved into the role of outside hitter at the advisement of Coach
Screen, who also played right side and outside hitter in her college career. Fellow senior Ava Tillman serves as a team captain with Thompson. Thompson reflected on playing against her former coach. “We still love [Coach Diaz], and it was a really great game,” Thompson told Appen Media. “She’s great competition; it was really fun to see her again.” Alpharetta is focused on rebounding after a tournament brought an eligibility issue to a head. One of their new players was identified as having “pending” eligibility, requiring the team to forfeit their first seven wins. All members of the Alpharetta roster are now deemed eligible to compete by the Georgia High School Association. Co-head coach Elizabeth Margeson explained how they are recovering from the miscommunication. “[We’re] definitely building resilience with a young team,” she said. Screen said every challenge is an opportunity. “I love a young team,” she said. “They’re hungry, they’re ready to learn and they have a ton of energy. I think people are underestimating Alpharetta because we graduated a lot of important pieces, but I’m excited to show them how resilient they are and how important defense is.” Margeson also highlighted defense as a highlight of this year’s squad. Sophomore outside Sydney Taylor led the team, posting 22 digs and 14 kills. The Raiders are headed into three region matchups against Milton, Johns Creek and Riverwood, then an upcoming tournament Sept. 26. They will wrap up their regular season Oct. 1 with a tri-match against rivals Cartersville and Marist. Centennial has two region matches left, against St. Pius X and Chattahoochee, and five non-region matchups, with two coming against St. Francis. If they can pull off an upset on a region team, perhaps Chattahoochee who has just one more win in-region, they will have an opportunity to improve upon last season’s 11-19 finish.
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12 | September 24, 2026 | Milton Herald | AppenMedia.com/Milton
NEWS
Fulton honors educators in annual ceremony By JIM BASS jim@appenmedia.com ATLANTA — Fulton County Schools on Sept. 16 rolled out the red carpet to honor more than 200 teachers and school professionals at its annual Legacy of Excellence Awards, held in the Georgia International Convention Center ballroom. A teacher of the year and school or support professional of the year were each honored for each of the 101 schools in the district, walking to the stage in front of more than 1,000 attendees consisting of family, friends, principals and other teachers. Board president Kristin McCabe said it's her favorite event of the year. She was attending the event as a board member for the fourth time. “It is necessary to recognize those that make a difference in our children's lives every single day,” McCabe said. “I think it's important that we recognize people for the work that they do, celebrate them so they know their value, and how much we appreciate them,” McCabe added. Joining WSB-TV news anchor Wendy Corona and board president Kristin McCabe on the list of speakers, superintendent Mike Looney spoke about the positive impact that a teacher can have on a student, and why it's worth remembering. “Long after our students matriculate through our system, they're going to be thinking about their public education experience here in Fulton,” Looney said. “They're not going to remember perhaps their bus number, or what they ate at lunch one day, or the lesson that a teacher taught, but what they are going to remember is how we made them feel.” The Westlake High School Jazz Ensemble and New Prospect Elementary School Musical Theatre performed during the lunch hour. The Roswell High School Drumline later escorted the overall teacher of the year to the stage. The district honored its overall teacher of the year award winner: Crabapple Middle School’s Jennifer Priddy. She took home the honor along with overall support professional of the year Vahnesa Jourdan, who is a district human resources employee, and school professional of the year James Grantham of Centennial High School. Priddy, an English Language Arts teacher, first won the schoolwide teacher of the year award after a contest between three finalists was decided by who students would produce
JIM BASS/APPEN MEDIA
Alpharetta High School teacher of the year Jack Hood and professional of the year Annie West pose after walking the red carpet at Fulton County Schools’ Legacy of Excellence Awards on Sept. 16. the most noise for. Priddy, who leads the school’s student-led news crew for the school, heard she won the overall award during a live show in April. “I was there supporting them, making sure all the kids were behaving themselves and all of a sudden, they turned the announcement around on me,” Priddy said. Priddy has been teaching students since 1996 and joined the district 15 years ago. Crabapple Middle School principal Stephanie Haga said she is special in how she is able to support students by listening to what they want to accomplish instead of giving it to them and helping guide them to those goals. “[Priddy] She seeks to support kids, and she got recognized because of that. She had an opportunity to leave the classroom, and she said, ‘I want to be with the kids. That's where I belong,” Haga said. “I think that is the true teacher's heart.”
Fulton County Schools superintendent Mike Looney speaks at the annual Legacy of Excellence Awards on Sept. 16.
AppenMedia.com/Milton | Milton Herald | September 24, 2026 | 13
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Medical science can sometimes help us step back in time and understand the past as though centuries no longer separate us. Homer's The Odyssey has received renewed attention through Christopher Nolan's recent film adaptation, providing an opportunity to revisit medicine in Homer's world. By understanding the effects of two plants—nightshade and snowdrops—modern pharmacology sheds light on one of the epic's most perplexing episodes: the transformation of Odysseus's men into swine. Christopher Nolan's adaptation includes the startling scene in which the sorceress Circe turns Odysseus's men into pigs. In Homer's original epic, Circe poisons the soldiers' drink. The god Hermes gives Odysseus an antidote in the form of a plant called Moly, described as having a black root and a white flower. Odysseus consumes the herb, drinks Circe's poisoned brew without harm, then confronts Circe and rescues his men. To modern audiences, Circe's potion seems fantastical. But to ancient listeners familiar with local plants and traditional healing, it may have suggested something far more recognizable. One influential interpretation proposes that Circe's potion was inspired by poisonous plants of the nightshade family, which profoundly affect the nervous system. Normally, the body shifts between "rest and digest" and "fight or flight" through the action of acetylcholine. Nightshade blocks acetylcholine, pushing the nervous system toward "fight or flight." In larger doses, the consequences become severe. Poisoning by nightshade produces the classic symptoms: "blind as a bat, mad as a hatter, red as a beet, hot as a hare, dry as a bone." Victims may suffer blurred vision, impaired sweating, confusion, hallucinations, and delusions. Nightshade is among history's most famous poisons, appearing in Homer, Shakespeare, and countless ancient texts. Homer's audience would likely have recognized its effects. Nightshade could leave Odysseus's men as helpless as pigs—or even convince them they were pigs. Medical historians have suggested
that Moly may have been the snowdrop (Galanthus), which has a white flower, dark roots when freshly dug up, and which contains galantamine, a compound that increases acetylcholine activity and largely counterPROVIDED acts the effects of nightshade. But snowdrops are not harmless. In excessive doses, they can slow the heart, weaken breathing, lower blood pressure, and become poisonous themselves. Only a master herbalist or a hero with Hermes as his guide could have chosen the proper balance. For ancient audiences, the story likely gained another layer of suspense now largely lost on us. They may have recognized that Moly itself was dangerous. Once Odysseus swallowed it, the clock began ticking. Odysseus had to drink Circe’s nightshade before the snowdrop killed him. The antidote became the poison, and the poison became the antidote. When Odysseus consumed Moly, ancient listeners may have experienced the same suspense we feel watching heroes race to obtain an antidote in modern films. When Odysseus swallowed one poison in preparation for another, ancient listeners, too, were likely on the edge of their seats. Almost any substance can be a medicine at one dose and a poison at another. That paradox—and the knowledge that Hermes' "gift" was both antidote and toxin—deepens our understanding of the peril Odysseus faced. Between Circe and Hermes, nightshade and snowdrops, he navigates a medicinal Scylla and Charybdis in which each plant is both poison and cure. A knowledge of ancient herbal medicine and modern pharmacology makes sense of a scene of soldiers turned into pigs and helps us appreciate a moment of tremendous danger and suspense for our great ancient hero Odysseus.
AppenMedia.com/Milton | Milton Herald | September 24, 2026 | 15
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16 | September 24, 2026 | Milton Herald | AppenMedia.com/Milton
COMMUNITY
American Legion holds Sept. 11 ceremony By JON WILCOX jon@appenmedia.com ALPHARETTA, Ga. — American Legion Post 201 in Alpharetta honored the memory of the victims and heroes of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, Pentagon and United Airlines Flight 93. More than 160 people attended the Sept. 11 ceremony, which included speeches and a dedication of a new part in the post’s Walk of Memories. A brick was set to remember 16 people with Georgia connections who were killed at the Pentagon and World Trade Center. The walk was built to honor the memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice in conflicts since the end of the Vietnam War. Bricks were also placed in memory of Sgt. Major George Wallace, who was killed in the attack on the Pentagon, Flight 93 co-pilot LeRoy Homer Jr. and Army Captain Tyler Feehan of Cobb County, who was killed in July
in a missile attack on his military post in Jordan. Wallace was a close friend of current Post Commander Tom Richardson. Homer was an Air Force Academy classmate of former Post Commander Fred Mahoney. Feehan’s relatives, Betty and David Feehan, placed his brick. Nicholas Bellenbaum, a retired Navy SEAL and chief petty officer who served more than 20 years and deployed multiple times with SEAL teams 1, 2 and 8, gave the keynote address. Bellenbaum said he has seen the consequences of years of combat and multiple deployments on military service members. Those consequences too often include mental health challenges, he said. “For a long time, our military culture has taught us how to endure almost anything, which is a necessary trait in combat, but sometimes the same people who run to danger to help someone else have difficulty asking for help when they need it,” he said. “We need to change that.”
AMERICAN LEGION POST 201/PROVIDED
Retired U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Nicholas Bellenbaum gives an address during a Sept. 11 ceremony at American Legion Post 201.
AppenMedia.com/Milton | Milton Herald | September 24, 2026 | 17
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18 | September 24, 2026 | Milton Herald | AppenMedia.com/Milton
COMMUNITY
Pentagon survivor shares 9/11 story at Blessed Trinity By ANNABELLE REITER annabelle@appenmedia.com ROSWELL, Ga. — For the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, U.S. Air Force veteran and federal cybersecurity adviser Kevin Carpenter made the trip from the nation’s capital to Georgia to give a message to the students of Blessed Trinity Catholic High School. The school displayed memorial flags on its lawn for each victim of the attacks and hosted a stadium run earlier that morning. Participating students ran or walked 110 flights in honor of the victims and first responders. It was Carpenter’s second time publicly telling his story of working in Wedge 1 of the Pentagon when American Airlines Flight 77 struck that segment of the building. The first time was five years prior in the same gymnasium. “I had never spoken about it before, and then the 20th anniversary happened,” Carpenter told Appen Media. “And I remember thinking, ‘I’ve got to do something because there’s people who aren’t here to tell their stories.’ They’re being forgotten about, and it’s the weight of a giant on my shoulders.” Principal Cathy Lancaster introduced Carpenter and detailed his career path from the Air Force to the federal Office of Management and Budget as a senior cybersecurity policy adviser who assists with incident response. The OMB reports to the president and is responsible for implementing his agenda across the executive branch. “Today, Mr. Carpenter isn’t here to give us a history lesson,” Lancaster said to the crowd. “He is here to share something much more personal — what September 11th felt like through the eyes of someone who was there.” Carpenter said it was an honor to be welcomed back to the school and have the opportunity to share his story. Many students were taking in facts about the attacks they had not previously heard as Carpenter detailed the timeline of that morning at the headquarters of the Department of Defense. The Pentagon is located in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. On Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers flew a Boeing plane into the Pentagon’s western facade at 9:37 a.m., killing 184 people and sparking a fire that took days to fully extinguish. The strike came less than an hour after hijacked jetliners hit the World Trade Center’s twin towers in New
ANNABELLE REITER/APPEN MEDIA
Blessed Trinity Catholic High School faculty and community members stand with Kevin and Angela Carpenter, center, in front of memorial flags placed on the school’s lawn. York, killing nearly 2,750 people and bringing down both towers. A fourth hijacked plane, United Flight 93, crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers fought to retake control from the hijackers, killing all 40 people aboard. In total, the terror attacks killed 2,977 people. Carpenter centered his message — encouraging students to take initiative with a servant’s heart — on a regret from that day: ignoring his urge to disobey orders and enter the rubble. The survivor’s guilt that followed was not something the post-9/11
Pentagon’s culture of strength had a name for, but it is what has driven Carpenter to pay it forward ever since. He also recognized the school’s memorial efforts with the nearly 3,000 flags on the lawn. Carpenter shared the stories of several victims, including Michael Gann from Roswell, as well as the story of a family with two young children, a lieutenant general, and a group of three 11-year-old students and their chaperones en route to a National Geographic marine biology field trip. When Carpenter’s speech was over, the entire gymnasium rose for a
standing ovation. Students waited in line for nearly an hour to shake his hand. Carpenter said his goal in speaking with the student body was to give them “something they could walk out of this assembly with that they can use and make themselves better human beings.” “If we can get them to go out and touch 10 more people, that’s a win,” he said. “I didn’t spend any time in anger and hate … I would like to believe that [paying it forward] is my contribution and the legacy that [the victims] would want me to portray and convey to others.”
AppenMedia.com/Milton | Milton Herald | September 24, 2026 | 19
Appen Media Wins 2026 Georgia Press Association General Excellence Bringing Journalistic Excellence to North Atlanta 1st Place
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20 | September 24, 2026 | Milton Herald | AppenMedia.com/Milton
OPINION
How lasagna gardening saved my 81-year-old back I am too old to dig! After turning 81 this year, I have realized that digging garden beds is just about over for me. However, I still want to create new garden beds. For those with JUDY PEACOCK similar physical Guest Columnist limitations, I found a solution: lasagna gardening, also known as sheet-compost gardening. This is a “no-dig” gardening method. One area of my yard needed definition. I wanted to create a bed of various shrubs and flowers. But when I attempted to dig holes, I found that previous owners had put gravel there and grass had grown over it. Every hole I tried to dig was like excavating into cement. So, I thought a berm would be the solution, but building a berm would require a lot of soil. Upon doing some research, I discovered the concept of lasagna beds, which use layers of different compostable materials to build rich soil. Here is the process to implement a lasagna bed: • Clear the area: Remove large weeds and tall grasses from the footprint of your future bed. • Lay down cardboard: Gather enough cardboard to cover the entire spot. You can also use five to six layers of black-and-white newspaper. Avoid sections with color print. The cardboard smothers the grass and weeds, gradually breaks down to add carbon to the soil, and creates a cool, dark place for earthworms to congregate. Wetting the cardboard down helps hold it in place, but it is not required. • Add woody debris: Collect and cover the cardboard with fallen twigs and dead branches found around your property. • Layer the green waste: Collect grass clippings and add them to the pile. If your lawn has been treated with chemical herbicides, do not use the clippings. You can also mix kitchen scraps and coffee grounds directly into this layer. • Finish with topsoil: The final layer is made up of bags of topsoil and compost. Essentially, you are building a large compost pile shaped directly into a planting bed. A successful sheet-compost system relies on a specific ratio of three key components: • Two-thirds brown material (carbon): This includes cardboard, newspaper,
BECK DIAMOND/PROVIDED
A chart showing the layers in lasagna gardening. Come visit us at the Alpharetta Farmers Market and the Sandy Springs Farmers Market. We will also have a booth at the Crabapple Festival in Milton on October 3rd 2026
This week’s “Garden Buzz” guest columnist is Judy Peacock, a master gardener for fifteen years. A former resident of Atlanta now retired and living in Ellijay, GA., she graduated from the University of Georgia majoring in Art Education and has volunteered at the High Museum of Art in the Department of Children’s Education. Judy loves gardening and composing flower arrangements. She is a member of the Speakers Bureau of the North Fulton Master Gardeners.
shredded paper, dead leaves, straw, twigs, small sticks, wood ash or sawdust. • One-third green material (nitrogen): This includes untreated grass clippings, plant cuttings free of disease, and kitchen scraps like coffee grounds, eggshells, fruits and vegetables. Avoid meat or animal fats, which attract pests. • Water and air: Microorganisms need oxygen to breathe and water to digest materials. The pile must remain consistently moist, like a wrung-out sponge, but never soggy. Composting begins when microorganisms feed on the materials added to the compost pile. They use carbon and nitrogen to grow and reproduce, water to digest materials and oxygen to breathe.
Lasagna bed gardens supports plants and shrubs.
bed to continue to build the soil. As the various elements break down into soil, I will top-dress with compost as I would any of my garden beds. And again, cover the bed in pine straw to tidy it up. Best of all, as I age, I can keep creating new gardens without the backbreak. By letting nature's decomposers do the heavy lifting, lasagna gardening allows you to expand your landscape easily, one layer at a time. Happy Gardening!
Planting and maintenance You can start a lasagna garden anytime, but the best time is in the fall, when brown leaves are abundant. Try to make the entire pile at least 3 feet tall since it will shrink to half that size as everything starts to decompose. Covering the pile with a tarp or black plastic helps prevent weed seeds from germinating, keeps heavy rains from washing away nutrients and traps heat to speed up the breakdown.
When I was ready to plant, I added additional compost to each hole I dug as total breakdown had not yet occurred. The decomposition process is complete when the layers are indistinguishable. It typically takes six months to one year. I now have a pink weigela, pink quince and a viburnum growing nicely in this bed. I also added some bulbs and a pink Japanese anemone. I mulched the whole bed in pine straw. This fall, when the leaves begin to drop, I will sweep them into the
North Fulton Master Gardeners, Inc. is a Georgia nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization whose purpose is to educate its members and the public in the areas of horticulture and ecology in order to promote and foster community enrichment. Master Gardener Volunteers are trained and certified by The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. Learn more at nfmg. net. Previous Garden Buzz columns are featured at https://appenmedia.com/ opinion/columnists/garden_buzz/.
JUDY PEACOCK/PROVIDED
AppenMedia.com/Milton | Milton Herald | September 24, 2026 | 21
CITY OF MILTON NOTICE The City of Milton does hereby announce that the millage rate will be set at a meeting to be held at City Hall Council Chambers, 2006 Heritage Walk, Milton, Georgia on October 5, 2026 at 6:00 PM and pursuant to the requirements of O.C.G.A § 48-5-32 does hereby publish the following presentation of the current year’s tax digest and levy, along with the history of the tax digest and levy for the past five years.
Current 2026 Tax Digest and Five Year History of Levy Incorporated City of Milton
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
3,420,476,662
3,958,728,869
4,775,282,577
5,176,737,727
5,713,308,833
6,072,970,194
10,894,780 0 0 0
9,346,640 27,600 0 499,030
8,740,350 0 0 100,240
7,647,490 0 0 0
6,432,140 0 0 0
5,179,390 0 0 205,800
3,431,371,442
3,968,602,139
4,784,123,167
5,184,385,217
5,719,740,973
6,078,355,384
522,098,486
750,437,726
1,195,142,931
1,339,559,929
1,354,465,286
1,625,363,967
2,909,272,956
3,218,164,413
3,588,980,236
3,844,825,288
4,365,275,687
4,452,991,417
Gross M&O Millage Rate
7.727
7.531
7.902
7.753
7.231
7.254
Less Millage Rate Rollbacks (LOST)
2.996
3.062
3.513
3.364
3.038
3.061
Net M&O Millage Rate Bond Millage Rate
4.731 0.487
4.469 0.452
4.389 0.364
4.389 0.356
4.193 0.310
4.193 0.302
Total City Millage Rate
5.218
4.921
4.753
4.745
4.503
4.495
M&O Taxes Levied Bond Taxes Levied Total City Taxes Levied
13,763,770 1,620,007 15,383,777
14,381,977 1,738,537 16,120,514
15,752,034 1,677,571 17,429,605
16,874,938 1,773,490 18,648,428
18,303,601 1,699,964 20,003,565
18,373,043 1,763,138 20,136,180
838,121 6.5%
618,206 4.5%
1,370,057 9.5%
1,122,904 7.1%
1,428,663 8.5%
69,442 0.4%
Real & Personal Motor Vehicle Mobile Homes Timber – 100% Heavy Duty Equipment Gross Digest Less M&O Exemptions Net M&O Digest
Net M&O Taxes $ Increase Net M&O Taxes % Increase
Calculations do not account for appeals and are based upon a 100% collection rate. Figures for 2021-2025 have been updated to reflect the most recent consolidation and evaluation of digest provided by Fulton County for each year, and 2026 figures are based on current values provided by Fulton County.
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22 | September 24, 2026 | Milton Herald | AppenMedia.com/Milton
OPINION
Our trip down the Danube – river of dreams My wife, Christina, and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary on one of those riverboat tours floating down the Danube. We started in the Czech Republic, RAY APPEN in Prague. But Publisher Emeritus before the boat, we ray@appenmedia.com celebrated with a vow renewal at our church, Alpharetta Presbyterian — a most wonderful openhearted church with broad welcoming shoulders. It was a fitting celebration of a first pass at this thing called life together, and the beginning of a second wind — looking and moving forward into the unknown. A river of dreams, then. Sometimes full of light, but other times without light — like banks of dark and threatening thunderheads wrapped in chaos. Black dogs, the old name for the darkness that settles over a person and won't lift. The light or the darkness, both reflections in a mirror. One is a point in time — "now," this hour, this minute. The other is sometimes a thousand years prior, like a matrix in concurrent but unequal layers. Since we have only limited travel experience, these nearly two weeks on the Danube with Gate 1 Travel guiding our itinerary were all new. Everything. I think we went through five countries — the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Slovakia and Hungary — ending in Budapest. The boat crew numbered about 30. We passengers were around 125. By the end, we all knew one another, and we made friends we will see again. In each city, our guides lectured as we walked and listened and tried to absorb where we were, how and why. Our guides made the trip. Their knowledge — the canvas for the paint — provided the context, the beating hearts of the humanity we witnessed. It's so different from reading about or studying history and geography, or people, from books or via lectures in a classroom. This, in contrast, was in many ways real time — see it, touch it, feel it, sense it, imagine it. Thousand-year -old churches that changed sides every few centuries or so. Narrow cobblestone streets. Church organs with thousands of pipes. Stained-glass windows of infinite color. Kings and queens, wars and empires. Plagues. All close, all almost within arm's reach. All
Ray and Christina Appen at the Lennon Wall in Prague.
PHOTOS BY: RAY APPEN/APPEN MEDIA
Our travel brought us closer to a reality that was not - and never has been - on our personal radar. It drove home that we — the US — is not the center of the universe. It helped us recognize that we are collectively one village - a village that aspires, lives, and dies the same way.” somehow personal, relevant. Our guides took us to Terezin — known to the Nazis as Theresienstadt — about 40 miles north of Prague, where we passed through iron gates to tiny cells with and without light. We walked the hard stone floors. We saw the photographs: in the ghetto, the condemned Jews awaiting transport; next door in the Small Fortress, the Gestapo's political prisoners, the Czech resistance fighters and the others who fought back or opposed. All of them chattel, crated, boxed, packaged, ready for disposal. Terezin was a "transit" concentration camp through which prisoners passed on the way to the extermination camps, including Auschwitz, Treblinka and Chelmno. It was the camp where 51 prisoners, primarily young resistance fighters in their 20s, were executed May 2, 1945, over a two-hour period — three days before the SS guards abandoned the camp and six days before Soviet troops liberated it. Karl Rahm, the last commandant of the ghetto,
was hanged in April 1947. Heinrich Jöckel, who ran the adjoining Small Fortress, was hanged in October 1946. Walking through Terezin was chilling. We saw things made of stone and steel, as well as ideas made from values and faith. And we saw the spoils of those who won and those who lost — the things that obscured, the cataracts of history. We just had no idea. We were blindsided by Hungary, where we spent a day touring the shelters, the bunkers, the radiation-proof underground escapes that were everywhere in Budapest. Today, we listen to the news about the war in Ukraine daily; we all do, I think. There are the wars in Iran and Gaza, too. But those wars, and that trauma for all the humanity involved, stay remote, out of reach, impersonal — and almost not real. The shelters we experienced in Budapest erased much of that distance for us. Many of the bunkers in Budapest were built during World War II. Some were large enough to hold 20,000
Plzen, also known in English and German as Pilsen, is a city in the Czech Republic people for weeks, if not months. Many others were built during the Cold War of the 1950s and '60s in anticipation of a nuclear war. There were bunkers for the military and civilian leaders, and they tended to be better equipped. There were bunkers for the general population. Underground hospitals, schools, kitchens, power stations, food storage, living quarters, water storage and systems and dining halls. We spent more than an hour in one of the bunkers, going through it room by room. What made these bunkers so powerful to me was twofold. No. 1: the sheer quantity of the shelters. Our guide told us Budapest alone has an estimated 3,000 shelters today, with the capacity to hold about 490,000 people. No. 2: the bunkers and shelters, especially those built during the Cold War, are only roughly 60 to 70 years old. That is, this "way of life" — this living in the shadow of a probable nuclear war, as evidenced by the bunkers — is, or was, so real and so much a part of life, especially for baby boomers in Budapest and Hungary, today. Our travel brought us closer to a reality that was not - and never has been - on our personal radar. It drove home that we — the US — is not the center of the universe. It helped us recognize that we are collectively one village - a village that aspires, lives, and dies the same way.
OPINION
AppenMedia.com/Milton | Milton Herald | September 24, 2026 | 23
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
The graying of North Fulton County Look around north Fulton. The people who built our communities are getting older. And the young adults who will become the next generation of homeowners, parents, workers and civic leaders aren’t arriving — or staying — at the same rate. It is a demographic shift that deserves our attention. North Fulton is made up of six cities: Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, Mountain Park, Roswell and Sandy Springs. The latest census estimates show that these six communities now have approximately 49,200 residents between the ages of 25 and 34. They also have approximately 51,500 residents age 65 and older. For the first time, older adults outnumber young adults in the six-city north Fulton area. That isn’t necessarily bad news. An aging population reflects people choosing to stay in the communities they love. Many of north Fulton’s older residents have lived here for decades. They have raised children, built businesses, volunteered, paid taxes and invested their time and money in making these communities successful. We should celebrate that. But we should also ask an uncomfortable question: Where will the next generation of north Fulton residents live? People in their late 20s and early 30s are typically beginning careers, getting married, starting families and buying their first homes. They are teachers, nurses, police officers, firefighters, small-business owners, engineers and professionals working in the companies that make north Fulton one of Georgia’s economic engines. Yet many increasingly face a difficult choice: pay a substantial premium to live here or move somewhere else. That isn’t simply a housing problem. It is a workforce problem. It is an economic development problem. And ultimately, it is a community problem. North Fulton has been extraordinarily successful at building attractive communities of single-family homes. But many of those homes are large and increasingly expensive. Between an apartment and a large detached house, there are surprisingly few choices. That’s what housing planners call the “missing middle.” It includes smaller homes, townhomes, duplexes, triplexes and accessory dwelling units — housing that can provide a bridge between renting an apartment and buying a large single-family home. The need
ISTOCK
exists at both ends of the age spectrum. Consider the older couple whose children have grown up and left home. They may have four bedrooms, a large yard and a staircase they no longer want to navigate. They may want to downsize without leaving the neighborhood where they have spent 30 or 40 years. Now consider their adult children. They may want to move back to north Fulton. They may have a good job. They may want to raise their own children here. But they may not be able to afford the house next door. An accessory dwelling unit could provide one answer. A smaller starter home could provide another. Townhomes and other forms of modest, carefully designed housing can provide additional choices. None of these solutions requires north Fulton to abandon the characteristics that made these communities successful. The issue isn’t whether north Fulton should become dramatically denser. It is whether we can make room for earlycareer families by building more kinds of homes. That distinction matters. If we want older residents to have the option of aging in the communities
they helped build, we need housing that works for them. If we want young adults to become homeowners and raise families here, we need housing they can afford. And if we want north Fulton businesses to continue attracting the workers they need, those workers need somewhere to live. The demographic trend gives us a warning. The latest census data show that the number of residents 65 and older has now surpassed the number of residents between 25 and 34 across north Fulton’s six cities. That doesn’t mean young people are disappearing. It means the balance is changing. And that change should cause us to rethink what we mean when we talk about housing. Housing isn’t just about where people sleep. It determines who can live in a community, who can work there, who can raise a family there and whether the people who grow up here can afford to come home. North Fulton doesn’t need to become Atlanta. We can preserve the character of our cities while making room for the next generation. The people who built north Fulton deserve choices that allow them to age here. And the young adults who will carry
north Fulton into the future deserve choices that allow them to live here, too. The question isn’t whether north Fulton is getting older. It is. We are in a talent battle with surrounding cities and counties. They all have jobs for nurses, teachers and public safety people. They have great schools and wonderful amenities. The communities that offer housing options that meet the budgets of these essential workers will win. Because communities don’t remain successful simply because the people who built them stay. They remain successful when the next generation can afford to become part of them.
— Kathy Swahn, Nancy Diamond and Jack Murphy
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 decennial census; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 20192023 5-Year Estimates, Table S0101 (Age and Sex). Six-city totals calculated by combining age-group estimates for Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, Mountain Park, Roswell and Sandy Springs. Because ACS estimates are subject to margins of error, figures are rounded to the nearest 100 in the article.
24 | September 24, 2026 | Milton Herald | AppenMedia.com/Milton
PAST TENSE
OPINION
Celebrating 20 years of writing Past Tense In the early 2000s, I enjoyed reading the Past Tense columns of Jim Perkins in the Dunwoody Crier newspaper. He authored the column from 1994 until 2006. His articles about the Hightower Trail, Roswell Railroad and history of local road names made me curious to learn more. In 2006, Dick Williams owned VALERIE BIGGERSTAFF the Dunwoody Crier and Cathy Columnist Cobbs was managing editor. I noticed an article by Cobbs in the Crier letting readers know they needed someone to take over writing the Past Tense column. Because of health issues, Jim Perkins was retiring from his position as “unofficial historian.” He would mentor the person who took over the column. As a person who loved local history and writing, I didn’t take long to consider and put my name in the hat. One of Perkins’ article suggestions for my trial run was the history of the land where DeKalb-Peachtree Airport is located. My first Past Tense article, “DeKalb-Peachtree Airport’s past life,” was published Sept. 13, 2006. I wrote about World War I Camp Gordon and World War II Naval Air Station Atlanta, both of which were once on the land that is the airport today. Since my mom was born in DeKalb County and was interested in family and local history, I asked her what she knew about Camp Gordon. She said my paternal grandfather was sent there for training in 1918. That sparked my interest even more, and Camp Gordon became the subject I have written about most frequently over the years. I also learned the Naval Air Station was used to train reserves during the Korean War. Nick Nicodemus emailed, saying he had been stationed there and recalled the introduction of jet aircraft and the limited size of the runways. Perkins was an immense help in those early years, providing topic ideas and sharing his book and map collection with me. He always added fun to our history talks by telling a joke or two. There have been many people from the generation before mine who shared their stories growing up in the 1920s, ‘30s and ‘40s. Ken Anderson, who had a day named for him by the city of Dunwoody, was the person I relied on the most for those stories. Ken and his sisters, Carolyn and Jane, recalled the celebration at Dunwoody Grammar School when the class completed their World War II savings bond books. Carlton Renfroe remembered when electricity came to Dunwoody. His parents bought a home on Tilly Mill Road in the 1930s, but his mother would not make the move to Dunwoody from Atlanta until the road was paved and electricity was available. They moved to Dunwoody in 1941. Many people have shared their memories, family histories and photographs with me through the years. There are too many to name, but I am grateful to each one. They have helped me gather history from Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Chamblee, Brookhaven and Doraville. When I first started writing Past Tense, it seemed events that happened in my early life were too recent to be considered history. As time went by, subjects such
THE ANDERSON FAMILY/PROVIDED
This 1937 photograph in front of the Carpenter home includes, left to right, Amanda Carpenter, Carolyn Andrson Parker, Lucy Carpenter Anderson holding baby Ken, Jane Anderson Autry sitting with Ambry Carpenter. as skating rinks, movie theaters, Rich’s pink pig and telephone party lines became more frequent in the Past Tense column. I know there are others who also enjoy reminiscing about these because thankfully I hear from them by email. Their memories often become part of a follow-up article. Authoring Past Tense also led to my becoming a volunteer and board member of Dunwoody Preservation Trust, where I continue to volunteer. I am now in my fourth year on the board of DeKalb History Center. Am I living in the past? Only when I research and write about local history. The rest of the time it seems crucial to try to keep up with the times, even though
I am not always successful with that effort. I still love to hear stories of days gone by, watch old movies and listen to old music. Well, music from the 1960s and 1970s, not so long ago. One more thing you need to know — the photo you see today is the same one that appeared in September 2006. Somehow 20 years have gone by, but I have not aged at all. Award-winning author Valerie Biggerstaff is a longtime columnist for Appen Media and the Dunwoody Crier. She lives in Atlanta. Write her at pasttensega@ gmail.com. Learn more at pasttensega.com.
Rives: Continued from Page 1 “I’ve been back in the gym, and I feel like it’s finally my time to return to ‘Ninja Warrior,’” Rives said. “I feel healthy enough … my knee feels healthy enough … I have recovered from having two babies, and I just feel like this is the year.” She said she is not scared of the show’s obstacle courses but does worry about leaving her children behind for the show’s filming period and being injured again. Rives said she hopes her daughters understand that women and moms can chase their dreams and accomplish their goals. “A lot of women in my generation and previous generations grew up with the societal standards that women shouldn’t be fit, and I don’t really agree,” Rives said. “I’ve always wanted my children to know that women can be strong and have muscles. Women can run fast and do really hard things.” Rives said people see fitness professionals compete on “Ninja Warrior” and
Flock: Continued from Page 2 “We want to make sure that we are prepared, that we’ve made smart decisions, and we have trained to be ready to respond,” Looney said in a 2022 interview with Atlanta News First. Police chief says cameras support investigations Fulton County Schools Police Chief Mark Sulborski provided a statement on Thursday in light of the petition. “Fulton County Schools installed Flock cameras at Alpharetta HS and across the district in 2022. The cameras are now located at all FCS schools and facilities and have supported a variety of safety and investigative matters,” Sulborski said. “Flock cameras are only one component of the district’s comprehensive safety strategy, but they provide an important additional layer of security around the exterior of our campuses. They help our police department identify vehicles connected to potential threats, criminal activity, missing or endangered individuals, and other investigations while supporting our broader goal of protecting students, employees and visitors,” Sulborski said. “FCS has an established audit protocol to ensure the technology is used appropriately and for authorized public safety purposes,” Sulborski said.
AppenMedia.com/Milton | Milton Herald | September 24, 2026 | 25
think they can also complete the courses but that the obstacles are technical in nature. “You can be a super strong person and be an incredible athlete in another sport, and it does not translate to ‘Ninja Warrior,’” she said. “There’s a lot of specific technique that is involved.” For example, she noted, hanging from a bar with one arm requires shoulder stability and grip strength. While competing in season 11, she encountered the “ferris wheel” obstacle, which features two large wheels 3 feet apart, each with 12 swinging handles competitors must climb across to reach the landing platform. Each time a competitor tops out on a wheel, it rotates roughly 120 degrees clockwise under their weight. “That’s the obstacle I fell on just because it was a really strenuous obstacle; I think I was on it for like two to three minutes just hanging there,” Rives said. “I would love to try that obstacle again because I think I could conquer it this time. I think that my grip, upper body endurance and stamina is strong enough to crush that obstacle this time around.”
Balancing obstacles — like a floating bridge — are “sketchy” to Rives. She said in those obstacles, nothing is stationary, and competitors must be quick on their feet. “You have to be perfectly aligned, with your head and shoulders in a straight line over your feet, and you’ve gotta step right in the middle of each of those obstacles to clear it,” Rives said. “If you’re a little bit off-balance or if your shoulders are too far forward or to one side, you’re going to fall off of it.” Rives said if she could go back to 2019 and give first-time competitor Rives advice, she would say to not be too hard on herself. “Even stepping out onto the course is a win; you don’t have to clear every single obstacle,” Rives said. “You don’t have to make it to the national finals. I think it’s a big deal to have the courage to get on the course and attempt it.” Motherhood has changed her definition of what being strong means, Rives said. “Before, I would say strong was purely a physical thing,” she said. “Now, I would say there’s a lot more to that … not just physical but also mental
and emotional … I think there’s many definitions of strong and how somebody could interpret that. I think you need to have strength in multiple areas.” Rives, a physical therapist, founded Momumental Physical Therapy & Performance, a concierge women’s health practice in Cumming. There, she specializes in pelvic floor and orthopedic physical therapy, birth preparation, and personal training for women during and after pregnancy. She also offers free monthly “baby + me” classes at Bell Memorial Park. The classes focus on restorative and functional movements to rebuild core and hip strength. These low-impact movements — squats, lunges, overhead presses and glute bridges, all completed while holding a baby — can then be replicated at home. “[After pregnancy, you find] your body is changed, your body is different,” Rives said. “You go see your doctor at a six-week checkup, and they’re like, ‘OK, you’re all good to get back to exercise,’ but you don’t really know where to start. So, I wanted to create baby + me to give that experience to moms.”
Earlier this year, following a shooting outside Palmetto Elementary School, school police used Flock cameras on campus, which helped identify and locate the suspect within hours of the shooting. “Even if they’ve helped in investigations, the cons outweigh the pros,” said Manchanda.
about who has access to the camera footage. The district did not specify who has access to the footage but said it audits the system to ensure it is being used appropriately. The two students plan to continue
gathering signatures and hope to bring the petition to their principal within the next week.
Students plan to bring petition to principal The students said public safety should not come at the cost of public privacy. They said they hope their effort brings change to schools across Fulton County and beyond. “Hopefully if we start with our campus, it can spread to the wider Alpharetta and hopefully the rest of the United States, and we can get more regulation on these kinds of cameras,” Jones said. Students have also raised concerns
Appen Media partner Atlanta News First published this story Sept. 3.
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LuAnn Gumkowski, age 73, of Roswell, GA passed away on September 15, 2026. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.
Clement Pereira, age 81, of Roswell, GA passed away on September 7, 2026. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.
Karen Freeman, age 87, of Milton, GA passed away on September 14, 2026. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.
Pauline Hahn, age 97, of Alpharetta, GA passed away on September 13, 2026. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.
Tyler Preston, age 30, of Roswell, GA passed away on September 9, 2026. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.
26 | September 24, 2026 | Milton Herald | AppenMedia.com/Milton
CITY OF MILTON/PROVIDED
Milton police officer Jason Pannell mans a trunk-or-treat station during a previous Carvin’ in Crabapple event.
Pumpkin: Continued from Page 1 trunk-or-treat event. The department is currently looking for volunteers from businesses and nonprofit organizations who can join officers in
distributing candy during the Halloween event. In addition to helping kids celebrate the spooky season, this opportunity allows organizations to promote their products and services. For more information, visit miltonga. gov/residents/annual-city-events/ carvin-in-crabapple.
City of Milton Notice of Special Called Planning Commission Meeting
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Date: Wednesday, October 14, 2026 Time: 6:00 p.m. Location: City of Milton 2006 Heritage Walk, Council Chambers Milton, Georgia 30004 On the date and time and at the location listed above, the City of Milton Planning Commission will conduct a Special Called Meeting, the purpose of which is to conduct a public hearing with respect to: 1) U26-01- For a Use Permit to allow an Event Facility (Sec. 8.5.6.B of the UDC) within a 1,625 square feet tenant space, in an existing two-story 38,000 square foot commercial building, to accommodate a maximum of 90 attendees. 2) RZ26-05 - Text Amendments to the Unified Development Code regarding AG-1 lots, development standards, and related development regulations, including previously deferred provisions from RZ26-03, affecting the following: Article 2 General Provisions; Article 3 Agricultural Districts; Article 6 Special Purpose Districts; Article 8 Use Provisions (as it relates to setbacks for private swimming pools); Article 9 Site Development; Article 10 Streets and Improvements; Article 11 Environment; Article 12 Administration; and Article 13 Definitions.
The City of Milton City Council will hold a public hearing for the applications for alcohol licenses listed below on Monday, October 5, at 6:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers on the First Floor of City Hall located at 2006 Heritage Walk, Milton, Georgia 30004. All interested persons are encouraged to attend the public hearing. PH-26-AB-09 – Vice Restaurant Group LLC dba Smash by Vice has submitted an application for a Resident Caterer license at its place of business located at 3100 Heritage Walk, Suite 101, Milton, Georgia 30004.
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Puzzles
Dunwoody Crier 9/10/26 Connect-It
Connect-It
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Milton Herald ..............................September 24, 2026 | 27
Dunwoody Crier 9/10/26 Crossword
Across
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1 Figure out 6 Ice cover 11 Bawl 14 Bay window 15 Dog-___ 16 Hasten 17 Falling stock prices, at times 19 Belief 20 Sphere 21 Pick up the tab 22 Evita role 23 ___ gin fizz 25 Soft leather 28 Boy 31 Cockpit reading (Abbr.) 32 Honey maker 33 Self-image 34 Walk through wet snow 37 Wedding rings 40 Harbor boats 42 G.I. entertainers 43 Stir up 44 18-wheelers 46 ___ cotta 49 Altdorf is its capital 50 Broke bread 51 Nurse a drink 52 Asian holiday 53 Medical image 57 1961 space chimp 59 ___ Baba 60 Heart valves 62 French possessive 65 Apart (Prefix) 66 Certain sweaters
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9/10/26 Kakuro PuzzleJu How to Solve: Each line in the puzzle Dunwoody above has Crier three clues and three answers. The last letter in the first answer on each line is 1. first Pooh creator. Nervous. Tempest. the letter of the second answer, and so on. The connecting letter is outlined, giving you the correct number of letters for each answer (the answers in line 1 are 4, 5 and 5 letters). The clues are numbered 1 through 7, which each number containing 3 clues Kakuro, alsoLittle known as Cross Sums, is a challenging number puzzle, a crossword grid. The rules are easy 2. Resting place. English race place. Lulu for 3 answers on thepuzzle, line. Buteach here’s the catch! The clues are creator. not in order - so the first clue in Line solved 1 mayin(or may not) style actually To the solve the Sudoku row, column and above the diagonal line in a black square is the sum of the white squares to the right of it. A number below the diagonal lin be the second or the thirdnumbers answer in1that line. Got it? Good luck! boxformust contain to of 9. the white squares in the sequence below it. You may only use the digits 1 to 9, and a digit can only be used once in an 3. Not crazy. Addy Capp creator. Former spouses. 4. School assignment. Frost. Popeye creator.
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Dunwoody Crier 9/10/26 Sudoku7 58
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Each line in the puzzle below has three clues and three answers. The last letter in the first answer on each line is the first letter of the second answer, and so on. The connecting letter is outlined, giving you the correct number of letters for each answer (the answers in line 1 are 5, 5 and 4 letters). The clues are numbered 1 through 7, with each number containing 3 clues for the 3 answers on the line. But here’s the catch! The clues are not in order - so the first clue in Line 1 may (or may not) actually be for the second or third answer in that line. Got it? Good luck!
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See puzzle solutions on Page 28
How to Solve: To solve the Sudoku puzzle, each row, column and box must contain the numbers 1 to 9.
black square is the sum of the white squares to the right of it. A number below the diagonal line is the sum of the white squares in the sequence below it. You may only use the digits 1 to 9, and a digit can only be used once in any sequence.
Solution
Is Your Company Hiring? Solution
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28 | September 24, 2026 | Milton Herald | AppenMedia.com/Milton
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7 D O Y L E G R E T U T U
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Leslie Berry Tom Billings Caroline Blackmon Tochie Blan Ron Boddicker Jodi Bogen JoAnn Bogner Sherri Bolles-Rogers Katherine Bolt Helen Borland Debra Bowen Joe Bowen Kenneth Bowman David Boy Ryan Brainard Mark Brandus Mel Brannen Amy Bratten Carol Bright Linda Brill Dorothy Brouhard Mary Anne Brown Erendira Brumley Zack Buchanan Lee Buechele Bernhard Burgener Alvin Burrell Mike & Theresa Buscher Mary Busman Clea Calloway Jean Campbell Kirk Canaday
James Carr Bridgette Carter William Carter William Cartwright Linda & Frank Catroppa Pat Check Virginia Christman Adam Cleveland Ann Coaloa Kim Coggins Michael Cohen Kathleen Cohen Evelyn Collazo Jeffery Conn Michael Mackenzie Communications Joan Compton Kathleen Cook Carol Cookerly Terri Coons Sarah Cox Cynthia Crawford Rhonda Cude Connie Cunningham Christopher Cupit Bart Dean David Dean Duane DeBruler Marilyn DeCusati Kathleen DeMartino Nancy Diamond Sarah Donehoo
To join go to appenmedia.com/join and follow the prompts to select your membership level and select your t-shirt size! Questions? Email Hans Appen at hans@appenmedia.com or call 770-442-3278.
Scan QR code to join the Appen Press Club
AppenMedia.com/Milton | Milton Herald | September 24, 2026 | 29
Support Local News Join Appen Press Club
Join today for $16/month
MEMBER (CONT.) Paul Huth Jeffrey Hyde J. Craig Inman Sandra Jacobs Susan Jacques Lynn Johnson Tyler Jones Zach Jones Patricia Kachur Amy Kanderis Arthur Kebanli Laura Keck Mark Kelly Nancy Kennell Randall Kent Carol Kerr Sally Klaskala Allison Kloster Dyna Kohler Brett Koutnik Larry Krueger Jess & Chris Kysar Malinda Lackey Sarah Lamm Daniel Lashinsky Richard Lapin Christine Law Brandon Leach Dennis Lee Ken Leffingwell Carol Lehan Melissa Libby
Bonnie Lind Francia Lindon Karen Lippert Harlan Little Jarrett Long Ross Long Kyser Lough Rita Loventhal Jerry Lucas Brenda Lundy Harry Lutz Rita Loventhal Karen Magill Freda Manning-Rumph Hilbert Margol Julie Martin Linda & Todd Martinez Carla Masecar Valerie Matthews Theresea Mattioli William Maxwell Nicole Mayer Rachel McCord Austin McCully Diane McDonald Evan McElroy Karen McEnerny Jack McGinnis Lynn McIntyre Mike McLoughlin Margaret McManus Jay O’ Meara
Celia Mendez Jennifer Mendoza Dan Merkel Al Merrill Chris Miller Christine Miller Patricia Miller Milton Animal Hospital George Mobley Joe Modica Fred Moeller Sarah Moen Catherine Moore Ralph Moore Carol Morgan Kathy Morgan Stu Moring Karen Mowery Leslie Mullis Donna Murphy Jack Murphy Aileen Nakamura George Nathan Caroline Naughton Richard Nichols Cindy Nolan North Fulton Master Gardeners, Inc. Carol & Carl Obenland Tricia Novarro Bob O’Brien Martha O’Brien Jay O’Meara
THE FUTURE OF LOCAL NEWS
Diana O’Sullivan Anne Pappas Lynn Pennington Jonathan Peters Kurt & Leslie Phillips Mary & Jan Phillips James Potts Debra Powell Seth Price Joyce Provissiero Chuck Pugh Douglas Quat Patricia Rackliffe Robert Radloff Raj Rajagopalan Pankaj Rajankar Ashwin Ramaswami Cheryl Rand Manu Rao James Rasmussen Paula Rattray Lori Rausch Jean Rearick Joseph Reed Scarlett Reynolds Righteous PR Angie Rigney Sean Riley Neil Robertson Rory Robichaux Kimberly Robinson Matt Rohs
Continued innovation in digital media has changed the ways in which people buy, sell and interact with products and services. It has caused businesses to reassess the ways in which it communicates with potential customers and advertises its products. It has been well documented that these changes have had a destructive impact on local newspapers, which continues to be a primary source for local news, but is no longer a primary source for local advertising dollars – historically the lifeblood for reporters and their coverage. At Appen Media Group we want to address this conflict head on, and build new and innovative approaches to monetizing local news and creating a sustainable future for local journalism in metro Atlanta.
Kim Romaner Courtney Rozear Fran Russell Janet Sandberg Carolina Santos Kelly Sarmiento Fran Schefer Derek Scheidt Dorothy Scherr Stephanie Schniederjan The Schoenblum Family Robert Scholz Robert Schreiner Stephanie Schuette Susan Searles Frances Segars Tracy Shealy Tina Shelton Lisa Shippel Steve Short Tom Simon Cindy Simpson Robert Singleton Faye Sklar Mitchel Skyer Judith Slaughter Andy Smith Lee Smith Tia Solh Morris Soriano Heidi Sowder Gena Spears
Donald Spencer Melissa Spencer Jordan Spivack Jan Stephens Judith Stewart Wesley Stewart Cathryn Stovall Celeste Strohl Diana Sullivan Andy Sumlin Kathy Swahn Carol Tall Mike Tasos Candice Teichert The Small Business Advisor Suzanne & Bob Thomas William Tietjen Lisa Tilt Michael Townes Trunnion LLC Matthew Tyser Edward Votta Linda Wabler Ollie Wagner Lewis Walker Elizabeth Waller Valerie Walters-Gold Ann Marie Warning Terry Warnke Jonathan Washburn Michael Watson Deborah Weiss
Michael Weiss Herbert Wells Benjamin Wemberly Beverly Whisenant Sally White Thom White Umpika White Mae Whiteside Ashley Whitt Jennifer Wieland Christine Williams Jamie Wimberly Jonathan Winkie Nancy & Dave Wistrand Kalle Wood Theresa Woolridge Laura Wysong Jonathan Young
THE APPEN PRESS CLUB
One solution is the creation of a membership driven organization called the Appen Press Club that is dedicated to recruiting people and companies to join as members. Members pay recurring monthly or annual dues that are 100% dedicated to sustainable journalism. By providing predictable revenue, Appen Press Club members and partners help fund the salaries and expenses of local reporters who will no longer be subject to the whims of marketing budgets and an ever changing advertising world. In turn, those reporters will provide the readers they serve with highly researched and qualified journalism focused on subjects that directly affect their quality of life.
To join go to appenmedia.com/join and follow the prompts to select your membership level and select your t-shirt size! Questions? Email Hans Appen at hans@appenmedia.com or call 770-442-3278. Scan QR codeto join the Appen Press Club
30 | September 24, 2026 | Milton Herald | AppenMedia.com/Milton
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AppenMedia.com/Milton | Milton Herald | September 24, 2026 | 31
Full-time Lead Java Developer, GIS, HQ: Cumming, GA Design, develop & maintain enterprise level apps; work from hm ofc anywhere in US; BS or foreign equiv in CS or clsly rel.; 5 yrs rel. exp; $152,131; resume & cvr ltr to: CJ@global-it-solutions.net. Lead System Engineering needed by AT&T Services, Inc., in Alpharetta, GA responsible for translating the core architecture for business requirements into the final technical solution (consisting of platform, network, software, cloud, etc.) through functional, performance, and reliability analysis using engineering models and techniques, primarily through software development throughout the vertical stack. Apply at http://att.jobs/, select JOB SEARCH and APPLY and select Search by Requisition Number at the left bottom of the page and enter Job Number: R-118679.
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BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR (Part-Time) Alpharetta Presbyterian Church Seeking an organized, detail-oriented professional to support church operations and staff. Position is 2025 hours per week, M-F, on-site. Responsibilities include: • Human resources administration and staff support • Church operational and administrative functions • Technology systems coordination and support • Insurance, compliance, and records management • Vendor and contractor administration To apply: Please submit your resume and cover letter to alpharettajobopening@gmail.com
Qualifications: • Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree required • Strong computer and organizational skills • Experience in office administration, operations management, HR, or related field preferred • Excellent communication skills and ability to maintain confidentiality • Successful criminal records/child abuse background check required
Equal Opportunity Employer.
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32 | September 24, 2026 | Milton Herald | AppenMedia.com/Milton
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